Response Paper to Antigone The tale of Antigone is one of the oldest pieces of literature that is still being studied today. The play is able to explore the psychology of many different characters as they are all forced to deal with the death Polyneices....
In the play Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone, much like Malala, knew what she was determined to do and did not let anyone prevent her from accomplishing her goal. The conviction and attitude that there’s a broader sense of justice beyond the established rules seen in...
In describing the characters of Odysseus and Oedipus, Homer and Sophocles both avoid defining these men by typical physical characteristics such as stature or distinctive facial features. Instead, these authors focus on detailing specific bodily wounds that function as embodiments of each character’s identity. Parallel...
Since its creation, Greek tragedy has created a pattern of particular events. Not just politically speaking, but also diving deep in themes that include divine thought and interaction of humans as brothers or enemies to death. Sophocles’ Ajax is no exception to that reasoning, treating...
Sophocles’s Theban plays tell the story of families afflicted by generations of personal tragedy. Unlike epics such as the Iliad, whose portrayals of whole-scale war, death, and destruction convey a sense of near-apocalyptic despair, Sophocles’s plays achieve power by setting tragedy on a more intimate...
Throughout the history of literature, authors and playwrights have often employed a foil – a character whose purpose is to create a contrast with the main character that allows the latter’s attributes to cement their presence. Ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles, in his play Oedipus Rex,...
Once in our lives there is a minute that we may consider ourselves superior to somebody or something different. There may likewise be a moment that creations a choice prompts an incredible blunder in judgment. In the play, Oedipus the King, composed by Sophocles, both...
Introduction Hubris, excessive pride or arrogance, is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, driving the narratives of various characters and leading to their eventual downfall. This essay explores the manifestations of hubris in the characters of Pentheus, Antigone, and Oedipus, drawing comparisons and contrasts between...
Guilt and Innocence: A paradox in Oedipus at Colonus A common theme throughout the Oedipus Cycle is that of guilt coinciding with innocence. In Oedipus at Colonus however in separate instances Oedipus claims to be innocent of his wrong doings as in his fight against...
The central conflict in Antigone has to do with someone’s deep respect. If the respect should be higher towards the laws of man, or the laws of the gods. This central conflict came about, since the people that lived in Thebes are used to living...
Sophocles’ epic poem, Oedipus the King, is a classic elegy that explores how irony can affect ones life and how “fate works more closely” then one would expect. It is due to this that many argue over how to react to the character of “King...
Treating others with kindness and respect is an important way of showing how you are expecting to be treated by people who surrounded you. In the Greek play “Antigone”, Haemon shares with his father many ideas and feelings he has encountered from Creon’s unchangeable, selfish...
Sophocles presents us with a high standard of moral courage and character in his play Antigone. Among the many thematic questions raised, Sophocles pursues in depth the issue of whether it is best to obey the law or to follow one’s conscience. Made-to-order essay as...
“Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eye are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light,which is true of the mind’s eye, quite as much as...
Oedipus, our ironic hero, suffered many tragic events that led up to his foretold fate in the play Oedipus the King. Why did he suffer through so much grief and what could one learn from such a taboo play. Made-to-order essay as fast as you...
Through the many tales of heroic deeds that have been told over the centuries, a picture has been painted as to the appearance and interpretation of the archetypical character of the hero. This character has been portrayed as a masculine figure who conquers all monsters...
Creon requested that Eteocles, who passed on protecting the town is to be covered with full respects , while the figure of Polynices, the intruder is left to decay along these lines, Creon announced that any individual who set out to endeavor covering Polynices will...
Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” (lit. “Oedipus the King”) has proven to be without a doubt one of the most acclaimed tragedies of all time, having maintained relevance in the literary canon ever since its composition and debut performance around 429 BCE. Like most high-profile works of...
Creon, a stubborn man with what he saw in himself as potential, saw his chance of fulfilling his dream when his mighty brother, ex-king, Oedipus with his two older sons, Polynices and Eteocles, passed away. The brothers were too prideful. They both wanted the power...
In Sophocles’ play Antigone, the two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, have opposing opinions concerning which to value more – the dead or the living. Antigone places greater emphasis on her duty to honor her dead brother, Polynices, while Ismene feels that it is more important...
The story of Oedipus the King is the epitome of tragedy. A great hero, who was once revered as an equal to the gods, fell from grace when it was learned that he had killed his father and married his mother. In the time of...
The play Antigone is written by Sophocles. The protagonist, Antigone, and the antagonist, Creon, goes against each other regarding the issue of Antigone’s brother’s burial. Antigone’s and Creon’s actions are fully supported by their own values. Considering his style in the play, Sophocles appears to...
The success of the narrative arc of both Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone and Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream heavily rely on character interactions with the natural world. In each play respectively, the protagonists must purpose and negotiate elements of nature to achieve their particular objective....
Sophocles was born in 496 BC in Colonus, a village just outside Athens, to a wealthy weapons-maker and a leading citizen. As a young man, Sophocles was talented at music and dancing. He was interested in playwriting and began to study The Odyssey and The...
Sophocles makes frequent use of seafaring imagery in his Oedipus the King, creating new perspectives from which to view its characters and cities. Oedipus tells the story of a king undone by a lack of faith in prophesy, the king of a people in need...
In Antigone, both Antigone and Kreon could be considered the tragic hero of the play. A tragic hero, defined by A Dictionary of Literary, Dramatic and Cinematic Terms, is someone who suffers due to a tragic flaw, or hamartia. This Greek word is variously translated...
While it is likely that Oedipus Rex is the only character who completely embodies Aristotle’s idea of a tragic hero, there are many characters who possess enough of his defined characteristics to qualify as the tragic hero of their respective drama. Creon, the King of...
The Greek rationalists’ search for the meaning of life through rational thought instead of the traditional legends marked the first radical shift from mythos to logos. While there was no clean break with either traditional religion or belief in the supernatural, Greek thought as a...
In the play Antigone by Sophocles, the characters of Antigone and Creon remain contrary to one another. Small time, Polyneices, the sibling of Antigone and the nephew of Creon, has been pronounced a swindler of Thebes. Antigone would prefer to pass on than leave her...
In the timeless tragedy “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles, the entwined themes of fate versus free will in Oedipus’s life offer a deep dive into the essence of human destiny and autonomy. Sophocles skillfully portrays the fine line between the destiny preordained by the gods and...
“Fortune is not on the side of the faint-hearted.”
“One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been.”
“The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.”
“You can kill a man but you cant kill a idea.”
Date
c.496 BCE - 406 BCE
Activity
Sophocles, with Aeschylus and Euripides, is one of classical Athens’s three great tragic playwrights. The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.
Works
Sophocles is thought to have written over 100 plays, but only seven fully survive today: Ajax, Antigone, Trachinian Women, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. Trackers, a satyr play, exists only as a 400-line fragment.
Influence
Sophocles is credited with diverging from the typical format of a tragedy: he increased the number of speaking actors, increased the number of chorus members, and used painted scenery. He also made an impact on Aristotle, who references Oedipus Rex numerous times in his book Poetics.
Quotes
“Leave me to my own absurdity.”
“You must remember that no one lives a life free from pain and suffering.”
“Yes it will be a grace if I die. To exist is pain. Life is no desire of mine anymore.”
